For a start, the bureau has signed agreements with 33 local job-hunting agencies. Under the agreement, job agencies will provide free information about full-time positions to job-seekers who have registered at the bureau's reemployment Website. In return, the agencies will get 500 yuan (US$60) each if a job-seeker succeeds landing a labor contract securing a job for a minimum of six months.

The bureau stipulated that every local with permanent Shanghai residency registration can avail of the service once every six months so as to curb frequent job-hopping.

Since the bureau launched in April the non-profit Website( www.12333.gov.cn ), more than 50,000 have registered, many of whom with two-year college education degrees or certificates attesting to their primary- or middle-level working skills. Around 9,000 firms have posted recruitment ads and 1,300 aspirants have found jobs through it.

"With the number of registrations increasing, we thought it was time to explore more opportunities. So we decided to tie up with employment agencies," said Ying Hongqing of the bureau. "We will cooperate with more job-hunting agencies in the near future."

Currently, although the agencies provide job information free of charge to job-hunters and only charge employers, they prefer to push high-paid positions because then they can get more remuneration from the companies as their fee is a percentage of the candidate's monthly salary.

But a majority of job-hunters seek primary or middle-level positions.

"We expect the subsidy will encourage local agencies to search positions for the general job-seekers," said Ying.

The employment agencies seem happy with the project.

"We have good relations with local firms while the bureau has a large pool of talented job-seekers. The project provides us an opportunity to expand our business," said Lu Ming, director of the Shanghai Human Resources Consulting Association.

The city's jobless rate hit a record high of 4.85 percent at the end of last month. As of June 30 this year, there were some 294,000 registered unemployed, up 6,200 compared to the end of last year. The bureau has vowed to create 400,000 jobs this year in order to bring the jobless rate fewer than 5 percent this year.

(eastday.com July 12, 2003)